The Production of Educational Knowledge in the Global Era

Book excerpt: "What impact does globalization have on the production of educational knowledge, and on the way scholars envisage education systems and education in general? Western education systems are being transformed, and their role redefined, in light of the processes of globalization: education targets are being reshaped in response to global economic needs; education systems are rated according to international rankings and education itself has been packaged into a commodity that can be commercialized worldwide. In addition, globalization prompts more intimate contact with different types of societies, cultures and knowledge that defy our “universal” foundations and research tools. Has educational knowledge developed in a way that enables us to disentangle the new education configurations? In order to respond to this question this edited volume addresses four major challenges: to understand the denationalization of education and the need to re-conceptualize this transformation. to uncover the agents and the tools of educational globalization, such as the knowledge producers, international organizations and role of statistics. to explore the implications of the emerging international educational institutions and international curricula. to understand non-western education and integrating it into western educational knowledge. These challenges are located at the core of the production of educational knowledge and are treated from a variety of viewpoints: sociological quantitative and qualitative scholarship, ethnographic accounts, socio-historical perspectives and philosophical reflections. This book contributes to critical thinking about globalization and educational knowledge and, at the same time, opens our spirits to the theoretical opportunities and educational enrichment that the globalization era offers. This is a compelling collection for anthropologists, sociologists, educational researchers, and anyone who seeks to understand the need of new modes of thinking about education in the global era. CONTRIBUTORS: Robert Arnove, Aaron Benavot, Eyal Ben Ari, Roser Cussó, Yossi Dahan, Roger Dale, Oren Lallo, Julia Lerner, Orna Naftali, Julia Resnik, Susan Robertson, Philip Wexler and Yossi Yonah.